Refrigerator



REFRIGERATOR Filed sept; 29. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet `2 lioenged'Nov.j zus,- 1944 uNrriaDr` STATES PATENT oFFicE REF-EIGEBATCH George K. Iwashita, Indianapolis, Ind., assigner toS tewartfWarner Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Virginia Application september zo, 1942, serial No. 4641.099

s claims. (ci. `s2- ssii The present invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly, refrigerators of the household type.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a novelrefrigerator of the household type having two or more zones or compartments differing -from each other in temperature and relative humidity.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide 'a' novel refrigerator of theI above -type which can be manufactured at comparatively low cost.'

Still another object of theA present invention is to Vprovide an improvedhousehold refrigerator .havingafreezing compartment, a dry cold zone,

and a moist cold zone, all within the same cabinet liner. r

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel refrigerator of the household type which has no 4refrigerating coils located within 'the food compartment, which includes i separate refrigerated spaces differing from each other 1n temperature and specic humidity, and

in which the temperature of one of the spaces j to provide a novel refrigerator accomplishing any or all of the above objectives within a refrigerator ozbinet constructed essentially as a single cham- Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel refrigerator of 'the' household type having a refrigerated compartment of high -V relative humidity in which condensed moisturek upon the contents `iii is prevented from dripping of the compartment.

Other objects land advantages will become ap parent from the following descriptionof a preferred embodiment of my invention which is il- Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view from front to back' through the refrigerator shown. in Fig. 1. In this view the door is illustrated in closed position; and

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view drawn on an enlarged sealeof a portion of the lapparatus illustrated in Fig. 2. A This figure may be considered" as taken in the same plane as Fig. 2.

` The refrigerator embodying the present invention and illustrated in the drawings is comprised primarily of a cabinet 1B, having a food space, indicated generally by the numeral l2, which is closed by a door Il. Below the food space a door I6 closes a compartment wherein the compressing unit is housed. The particular c-ompressing unit used forms no part of the present invention and therefore is not il1ustrated.'

The refrigerator cabinet may be of generally conventional construction excepting as pointed out subsequently, and is comprised of an" outer shell I8 within which is disposed a liner20, the

linervbeing separated from the outer shell by rock-wool 22 or Vother insulating material. Similarly, the door is formed of an outer panel and an inner liner 2l, the space between these members being filled with insulating material 26. The

open front of the cabinet I0 is formed with a comparatively deep sill which, together -with the. inwardly projecting portion oiY the door, serves effectively to insulate the interior of the space from-the exterior when the door is closed.

nssentieuy, the invention is concerned with' an arrangement for effectively and economically dividing the food space I2 of the refrigerator into a plurality of separate -zones differing from each other intemperature and relative humidity.. In the present instance three of these zones are shown. The lower of these zones or compartments indicated by the numeral 28, I have termed va freezing locker. The temperature in this space is normally maintained well below freezing and it is in this compartment that ice cubes are r frozen or in which meats or like foods are frozen lustrated in the accompanying in.`

which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of'a refrigerator embodyingthe present invention shown with the door open. The locationso'f the refrigerator food compartment 'liner and the refrigerant coils is indicated in this figure. z

to be preserved for comparativelylong intervals Vof time.

Above the freezing iooker is provided a dry cold space Il. wherein the temperature ismain- -tained slightly below 40 F. The relative humidity Ain this compartment is comparatively low..

that is approximately 50% RVH., which is well suited for preserving such foods as cold cuts and the` like, which preferably should be neither frozen, nor kept in-a moist atmosphere.

The upper compartment in the refrigerator,

, sa indicated by the numeral 32.,jis' maintainedrata temperature of approximately F., or somewhat higher, and at a humidity of approximately 80 R. H. This moist cold compartment is admirably suited for preserving most foods.

`The refrigerant coil 34 is located against the back, side walls, top and bottom of the food space liner. The refrigerant enters this coil from the compressor compartment, closed by the door I6, and passes upwardly through an expan sion valve, not shown, into a sinuous series type coil arranged about the top, back and side walls of the upper food space 32. The refrigerant then passes downwardly through a dual pressure control valve 36, which still further reduces the pressure, thus enabling the refrigerant to boil at a lower temperature. The refrigerant, after passing the dual pressure control valve, ows into a sinuous series type coil arranged beneath the bottom and behind the back and' side walls of the food space about its lower portion.

The above arrangement thus provides, in effect, two separate refrigerating systems, the upper portion of the cabinet being cooled by a refrigerant coil of moderate temperature, while the lower portion of the cabinet is cooled by a refrigerant coil of considerably lower temperature.

Preferably the liner 2l] is formed of sheet aluminum, although other materials can be used if desired. Sheet aluminum, or in fact any metal, is a comparatively good conductor of heat, and, therefore, will conduct heat from one zone to another. For thisreason, I prefer to interrupt this heat ow at the junctures between the separate temperature zones. This is accomplished in the manner best seen in Figure 3, wherein is shown a portion of the structure at the juncture between the freezing locker and the dry cold space. The back wall of the refrigerator is insheets are suicient for the purpose, whereas three are used to insulate the dry cold space from the freezing locker. In both cases, the adjacent compartments are insulated from each other by the air spaces between the glass sheets, while the plastic strips 52 and 42 prevent heat from being conducted by the liner from one compartment to the other. I

If desired, the front edges of the shelves, composed of the glass sheets 54 and 50 may be sealed together to insure dead air spaces between these sheets. Or, ifdesired, the spaces thus provided dicated at the left hand portion of this ligure where it will be seen that the-'liner 26 is interrupted for a considerable distance, the ends `of the two pieces of. the liner being indicated by the numeral 38. In other words, it may be considered that the liner has a horizontal slot 39 formed therein at the three sides of the food space. The edges of the liner adjacent the slot 39 are backed up by steel tapping plates 40 and c but to connect together mechanically, the side and rear walls of the liner 20 at the juncture between thefreezing locker and the dry cold space has its exposed face provided with three horizontally extending grooves 48 into which three glass sheets 50 are slid. The upper of thesesheets serves as a shelf upon which articles of food may be deposited, while the middle and lower sheets serve together with the air spaces between the sheetsv to insulate' the upper compartment from the lower.

At the juncture between the moist cold space 32 and the dry cold space 30 I prefer to use a similar arrangement, that is, I prefer to use a Bakelite or other suitable plastic or wood strip 52 to interrupt 4the sheet metal liner and to sup- DOrt glass shelves 54.Y Inasmuch as the temperature differential between the moist cold space and the dry cold space is inconsiderable, two glass Preferably a may be evacuated to provide even better insulation. In the drawings, however, I have indicated an expedient for sealing the front edges of the shelves while at the same time sealing the several compartments from each other along the inner face of the door I4. This arrangement is shown in detail to the rightl in Figure 3. As shown in the right hand portion of Figur 3, the vdoor liner 24 is interrupted in the same manner as the back and side panels of the refrigerator liner so as to prevent heat conduction by way of the door panel from one compartment to tlze other. Instead of using a Bakelite or other plastic strip, however, I use a soft rubber bumper strip 56. This bumper strip has a pair of Ilanges 58 which underlie the contiguous edges of the liners 24. A metal strip 60 is positioned behind these flanges andextends across from one panel to the other immediately behind the central portion 62 of the bumper strip 56. The metal strip is tapped at appropriate intervals and'screws 64 extend through the liner, the soft rubber flanges 58, and into'the tapped openings in the strip 66. With this arrangement, it will be seen that excepting for the very slight amount of heat conducted through the rubber of the bumper strip 62 and the screws 64, heat cannot be conducted from one compartment to the other along the front edge.

The rubber bumper 62 has an inwardly extending tubular portion 66, which is easily distorted and compressed, because of a hollow space f 68 located therein. This forwardly projecting portion bears against the front edges of the glass sheets 50 when the door is closed. Preferably,

contact should be made between the bumper strip y and the edges ofthe glass sheets slightly prior to complete closing of the door so that upon cornpletion of the door closing operation, the bumper strip will be slightly compressed, thus insuring good contact and, therefore, good sealing along the edge of the sheets. As may be seen in Figure 3, when the door is in closed position, the bumper effectively sealsone compartment from the other and also seals the spaces between the three glass sheets Awhich form the dividing elements between the freezing locker and the dry cold space.

Although not shown, it will be appreciated that, if desired, asmall inner door maybe used to close the freezing locker, so that warm air will not enter this compartment when the large door is opened to give access to the dry cold space or the moist cold space.

A similar bumper 10 is arranged upon the inner surface of the door in alignment witlrthe front edge of the diding shelf which separates the moistjcold space from the dry cold space. This bumper similarly serves to seal the space between the glass sheets 54 and also prevents the flow of air between the intermediate and upper compartments. As in the case of the bumper strip 56, the strip 10 is used together with a backinterrupting heat conductivity through the door liner between the intermediate and top compartments.`

, I have found that a refrigerator as thus constructed effectively maintains a sub-freezing zone in the lower compartmentv previously referred to as the freezing locker. Above the lower divider shelf, composed ofthe glass sheets 50, the temperature will be more moderate, however, and no frost will form upon the food space proper for preserving certain types of food arti-v cles. On the other hand, the upper space 32.` which I have referred to as the moist cold space, is slightly warmer than the dry cold space but considerably more moist. In fact, frequently moisture will condense from the air upon the walls of the uppercompartment refrigerator liner, inasmuch as the liner is arranged in intimate heat transfer relation with the refrigerator coils.

Under some conditions, if the interior of the refrigerator has the usual shape," this moisture may gather in large drops and drip upon the food ,located within the moist cool space. To overcome this objection I haveprovided the arrangement shown in Figure 2, wherein it will be seen that the rearward portion of the upper surface 12 of the food space liner is arranged so as to slope comparatively'sharply downwardly fio sheets at the fourth edges of said sheets and to V seal. one of said zones from the other when said aroundlthe corner 'I4 and down along the back wall. It, therefore, does not drip into the food located within the moistcold space.

Preferably upper and intermediate, or any deslred number of 'shelves 16, are 'located within the moist cold space and are formed of glass' sheets. yThese sheets are arranged with their edges spaced slightly from the surface of the refrigerator liner and rest upon pins or other supporting means secured to the refrigerator liner. There is thus provlded'a thin slotjalong the edgesV of the shelves through which con- .if desired, the upper surface of the strip 52 may be formed to provide a channel in which the .moisture collects and along which the moisture may ilow to a drain tube leading either to a cup located lower down within the refrigerator, or to the outside. If this arrangement is provided, the moisture collecting upon the walls of the refrigeratedspace will eventually find its way into the cup, and this cup may be removed and emptied from time to time,l

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous lmod iilcations Aand variations may be made without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. I therefore desirejby the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention all such modifications and variations by which substantially the results thereof may be obtained by means.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator, a cabinet providing a food space, a sheet metal liner for said food space, an impervious shelf dividing said'food space into separate zones, vsaid shelf being comprised of aY coil being disposed upon one surface of said liner,

partially upon one side of said slot and partially upon the other side of said slot, a door for said refrigerator, and means associated with said door adapted to seal the space between said glass door is closed.

2. In a refrigerator, acabinet providing a. food space, a. sheet metal liner for said food space and means for dividing said food space into separate food zones, the last saidmeans comprising a partition having heat insulating characteristics, said liner being interrupted in the plane of said partition to forma slot, a heat insulating strip joined to the edges of said liner ,at said slot to densed moisture may flow downwardly along the Walls to the plastic strip 52 which supports the glass sheets 54.

. The small amount of moisture which convdenses and eventually finds its way into a position along thetupper surface ofthe strip 52 will ",AlthoughI not shown, it will be appreciated thatV unite said liner elements into a unitary whole and being in substantially heat sealingI relationship with said partition at three of its edges, and means to inhibit the now of air from one zone to the .other at the fourth edge of said partition.

` 3. In a refrigerator, a cabinet providing a food space, a sheet metal liner for said food space, said liner being formed of upper and lowerportions, a strip of heat insulating material united to both said portions to form a solid wall, and a shelf having heat insulating characteristics supported by said strip in substantially airtight association with said liner at approximately the level of said heat insulating strip. e 4. In a refrigerator, a shelf formed. of insulating material, a strip formed of insulating material substantially sealed to three of the edges of said shelf, a food space liner formed of sheet metal extending upwardly from said strip and downwardly from said strip, said liner having a slot therein located behind said strip, means to refrigerate said liner, a vdoor having an inner substantially the same or equivalent metal panel for closing said refrigerator, said panel having a resilient strip adapted to abut against the free ledge of said shelf when said door is closed, the last said strip being formed of heat insulating material, a slot in the panel of said.` door located behind at least a portion of the last said strip, the last said strip covering said slot and the edges of said panel contiguous to said slot being united to said strip.

5.v In a refrigerator, a liner providing a food space, said liner being formed of upper and lower portions, a strip of plastic material united to both said portions to form a solid wall, a shelf formed of a plurality of sheets of glass supported by said strip in spaced relation to form air spaces between said sheets, means to seal the exposed edges of said sheets to enclose the spaces between said sheets, and refrigerating means adapt# ed to maintainthe space on one side of said shelf at a different temperature than the space on the other side of said shelf. L

6, In a refrigerator, a cabinet providing a food space, a sheet metal liner for said food space, said liner being formed of upper and lower portions, a strip of plastic material united to both said portions to form a solid wall, a shelf formed `of a plurality of sheets of glass supported by said strip iin spaced relation to form air spaces between said sheets, means to seal the exposed edges of said sheets to enclose thespaces between said sheets, means adapted to maintain the space below said shelf at a lower temperature than the space above said shelf, the rearward portion of the top wall of said sheet metal'liner being sloped from front to back, and refrigerating means in heat transfer relation to said portion, said strip forming means to collect moisture atr the edges of said shelf.

7. In a refrigerator, a cabinet providing a food space, a sheet metal liner for said food space,

said liner being formed in upper and lower portions, a strip of heat insulating material unit-` ing said portions to form a solid wall, a shelf having heat insulating characteristics supported by said strip in substantially airtight association with said liner at approximately the level of said heat insulating strip, a refrigerating coil in heat exchange relation to said liner in a position above said strip, a plurality of glass shelves in the food space above the' first said shelf, and the edges of said Ashelves being spaced from said liner sufficiently to permit moisture condensedupon said liner to flow past the edges of said shelves into a position adjacent said strip.

8. In a refrigerator, a cabinet providing a food space, a doorfor said cabinet, 'a sheet metal liner for said food space, means for dividing said food space into separate food zones, the last said means comprising a shelf having heat insulating characteristics, said liner being interrupted in a plane substantially coextensive with said shelf, heat insulating means joining together the edges of said liner at said interrupted portion mechanically to unite said liner elements into a unitary whole, said shelf being substantially sealed by door.

GEORGE K. IWASHITA. 

